Our friend Qiao Yang turned us on to the phenomenal Russian movie version of this book, which Fox has already snapped up rights to -- as well as two sequels. The book has now been translated into very readable English by Andrew Bromfield, whose Boris Akunin translations are popularizing that Russian author too. There are enough differences from the film that fans should certainly snag a copy. For one thing, given the expanse of the written word Mr. Lukyanenko has more time and room to flesh out concepts like The Gloom, the nether region that Others can travel in so that time slows down for them. And while the anti-abortion angle is absent from the book, Mr. Lukyanenko's explanation of what attracts the Dark Others is just as compelling:

"What does an experienced Dark Magician tell his novice? Maybe he uses words that are just as beautiful and true?"

"Oh, sure, about freedom. About how everyone gets the place in life that they deserve. About how pity is degrading and true love is blind, and true kindness is useless--and true freedom is freedom from everyone else."

The target there could well be anyone who thinks Ayn Rand a prophetess, but note the nice way it reverses Sartre's dictum: Hell is other people. Rather, as Mr. Lukyanenko points out: Hell is freedom from other people and the obligations they impose on us. The sort of freedom that the Dark represents is pure selfishness, the true evil. Lest you not get the point, a character later says:

What's bad about Dark freedom is not just that it's freedom from others. That's another explanation for little children. Dark freedom is first and foremost freedom from yourself, from your own conscience and your own soul.

That's powerful stuff and results in a novel that's just as good as the film.